Dwyane Wade surprises Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. on ‘Ellen’

James Shaw Jr., the man whose quick thinking and bravery helped put an end to the bloodshed unleashed by a Waffle House gunman April 22, met a fan Wednesday in NBA superstar Dwyane Wade, who sat down with Shaw on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

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"I like the way he carries himself off the court," Shaw said of Wade shortly before the Miami Heat shooting guard strolled out on stage in a surprise appearance.

Wade, who flew out for the occasion, offered the stunned Shaw a hug, and told him he's become a new role model for Wade to teach his children about.

"I knew Ellen was doing something, and I couldn't be outdone," he joked.

Shaw, 29, rose to fame last month after a fateful late-night stop at Waffle House.

The Nashville resident was a customer at the fast food joint in Antioch, Tenn., in the early hours of April 22 when Travis Reinking opened fire, killing four and injuring numerous others.

Shaw, who was at the restaurant with pal Brennan McMurry, wrestled the gunman's AR-15 out of his hands as he paused to reload, and knocked the weapon across a counter top and to the ground — despite the fact that he himself had been hit by a bullet.

Shaw said he hopes the world improves for the sake of his 4-year-old daughter. (Michael Rozman/Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.)

"We walked in, we saw the cook, the cook was cooking, he was washing dishes, and then one of the cooks, he actually went on a break," Shaw recalled to DeGeneres. "He said he was going to have a cigarette and he'll be right back. We thought dishes crashed to the ground, but it was actually gunshots. And after the gunshots started, it was kind of a lot of chaos."

Shaw's right arm was grazed by a bullet amid the chaos, though he says he hardly noticed his injury, as he was dead-set on staying relaxed and keeping an eye on the shooter.

"I looked through the window, and he had the barrel pointed down and then I saw him reloading," Shaw said. "I had a voice in my head that said, 'Do it now, do it now.' And I took the opportunity."

Shaw suffered second-degree burns in the tussle, but managed to toss the weapon over a counter top, push the gunman outside, and escape to safety.

Shaw suffered second-degree burns in the tussle, in which he tossed the gunman’s weapon over a counter. (Larry McCormack/AP)

The father of one was initially reluctant to embrace being branded a hero, saying in an early press conference that he was just a "regular person" and had no motives to stop the gunman other than selfishness.

But a week and a half on, Shaw appeared more willing to accept the moniker — as long as his actions inspired others.

"The whole hero thing is, I don't have a problem with it, it's just that if you're in that same situation, I want you to know that a regular guy did it, and I want you to emulate that same thing and know you had that fire inside yourself," he said.

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Shaw's generosity — he launched a GoFundMe for victims' families that has raised more than $215,000 — didn't go unnoticed by DeGeneres.

James Shaw Jr. told Ellen DeGeneres about his experiences at Waffle House the morning of April 22. (Michael Rozman/Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.)

The comedian gifted Shaw a check for $225,000, adding $20,000 to a GoFundMe already in existence that had earned more than $205,000 for the hero.

As for what Shaw hopes comes from his experience, he told Wade he wants to see the United States address its shortcomings in treating mental illness.

"It's a public health problem that we have. It's a mental health problem that the United States a whole has," he said. "One in five individuals in the U.S. suffer from some kind of mental disorder, and that's close to like, 45 million people. So that's a very large and eye-raising problem, so I want to bring some kind of awareness to it."

Shaw added that he hopes the world improves for the sake of his 4-year-old daughter, Brooklyn Michelle Paige.

"I have a 4-year-old daughter and I don't want her to live in this world as she matriculates, and gets older, I don't want her to live in that problem," he said. "If I could help with that problem, I think that's what I should do."